The Devil and the Ten Commandments
Cast & Crew
Julien Duvivier
Michel Simon
Lucien Baroux
Claude Nollier
Dany Saval
Henri Tisot
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
EPISODE 1: Jérome Chambard, a handyman in a convent, is warned that he will lose his job if he continues to swear. When a boyhood friend, now a bishop, visits the convent, the handyman forgets the warning and, in a dinner discussion, he does swear. He loses his job, but the bishop intercedes and he is reinstated after promising to study the ten commandments anew. EPISODE 2: A young man enamored of a stripper calls on her only to find her married to a janitor who doesn't know what kind of dancing his wife performs. While she is out shopping, the visitor describes her dancing to the husband, who leaves when his wife returns. The stripper demonstrates her new routine for her admirer, but the young man, disillusioned at finding the stripper an ordinary housewife, leaves; then the husband returns and demands that his wife show him her striptease act. EPISODE 3: Denis, a Jesuit novice, leaves the order to avenge his sister's suicide, which was provoked by Garigny, a racketeer who seduced her into prostitution and drug addiction. After instructing a detective to come to his room at a specific hour, Denis persuades Garigny to come a few moments earlier. He provokes the racketeer to murder him, and Garigny is arrested by the detective. EPISODE 4: Philip buys a necklace for Micheline, his mistress, though he is bored with her. Françoise, the wife of a struggling playwright, accompanies the couple at the time of the purchase and admires another necklace. Attracted to Françoise, Philip later buys the other necklace and offers it to her if she will have an affair with him. She agrees and later, to conceal her adultery from Georges, her husband, arranges for him to "find" the necklace amidst some imitation jewelry. Micheline learns of the liaison between Philip and Françoise and seduces Georges, who offers her the choice of a piece of jewelry from Françoise's collection. She recognizes the expensive necklace and chooses it. Françoise is speechless when she later sees Micheline proudly displaying her new acquisition. EPISODE 5: A man claiming to be God visits a humble mountain cottage. A child and her grandparents are at home, and the elderly woman berates "God" for her miserable existence and demands a miracle. "God" causes her allegedly crippled husband to walk again. The old woman dies, and "God" blesses her and departs, leaving renewed faith and hope behind him. He accepts a lift from two men in a van and is driven unknowingly to the nearby psychiatric hospital. EPISODE 6: Pierre learns from his father that his real mother is not Germaine but a famous actress who refused marriage. He goes to see her, but before he can identify himself, she begins a flirtation, assuming him to be another youthful admirer. When he finally reveals himself as her son, she confesses that the man he thinks is his father, Monsieur Messager, is not actually so. But she cannot remember who his real father was, there having been so many men in her life. Pierre, more bewildered than before, leaves his mother to her many lovers and goes home better satisfied with the Messagers as parents. EPISODE 7: Didier, a bank teller, is held up on the job and robbed of 50 million francs. Later he learns the robber's address and steals a suitcase containing the loot. Seated in a cafe next to a tramp, Didier tells Janine, his fiancée, of his new wealth and together they plan to elope. While they are packing, a policeman invites Didier to identify a suspect. Though this man is the guilty one, Didier disclaims any resemblance. After leaving the police station, the released robber chases Didier, and they fight over the suitcase. When a policeman orders them to open it, the contents are revealed as merely food and wine. A bit later, the policeman comes across a hungry tramp whose lunch has turned into 50 million francs! [EPISODE 8 (European version only): One Sunday afternoon, when Jérome Chambard and the bishop are eating, the Devil appears as a serpent. Rather than throwing it into the fire, where Jérome supposes it might be comfortable, he casts it into a well.]
Director
Julien Duvivier
Cast
Michel Simon
Lucien Baroux
Claude Nollier
Dany Saval
Henri Tisot
Charles Aznavour
Lino Ventura
Maurice Biraud
Henri Vilbert
Maurice Teynac
Françoise Arnoul
Micheline Presle
Mel Ferrer
Claude Dauphin
Fernandel
Germaine Kerjean
Gaston Modot
Josette Vardier
René Clermont
Claudine Maugey
Alain Delon
Danielle Darrieux
Madeleine Robinson
Georges Wilson
Roland Armontel
Jean-claude Brialy
Louis De Funès
Armande Navarre
Noël Roquevert
Denise Gence
Jean-paul Moulinot
Jean Carmet
Gabriello
Crew
Robert Amon
Michel Audiard
Charles Aznavour
René Barjavel
Ralph Baum
Gilbert Bécaud
Maurice Bessy
Jacques Brel
Paul Cayatte
Guy Chichignoud
Julien Duvivier
Roger Fellous
Georges Garvarentz
Claude Jaeger
Pascal Jardin
Henri Jeanson
François De Lamothe
Guy Magenta
Michel Magne
Pathé Cinema Corp.
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Paris opening: September 1962 as Le diable et les dix commandements; running times: 120 and 130 min. Rome opening: September 1962 as Le tentazioni quotidiane; running time: 107 min; alternative title: Il diavolo e i dieci comandamenti. Also shown in Europe in a 143-min version. Most sources omit Intercontinental Production from production company credit; its role is undetermined. Sources disagree on music credit.
